Developer buying property along I-64 in Hampton

Hotel developer plans mixed-use project

HAMPTON — A Virginia Beach-based hotel developer has amassed more than 12 acres of commercial property along Interstate 64 and plans to build a multifaceted venue near Mercury Boulevard.

Landmark Hotel Group LLC has also purchased the nearby Pinewood Plaza office building on Commerce Drive and plans to spend more than $800,000 renovating the four-story structure.

The group plans to build "luxury apartments, destination retail/dining and an upscale hotel" on land it already owns between Mercury Boulevard and Pine Chapel Road just north of Pinewood Plaza, according to a city news release announcing the property acquisition.

"We are very excited about the potential of Pinewood Plaza," said Landmark president Akhil Jain in a news release. "It is a solid building with great features."

He added: "We are in Hampton because we saw properties that had a lot of potential. This corridor is going to play a vital role in the city of Hampton."

Landmark's plans have already made tangible progress in Coliseum Central.

In 2011, Landmark purchased the Quality Inn and adjacent Holiday Inn Hampton Hotel and Conference Center property along Mercury Boulevard. The company renovated the interior and exterior of the Quality Inn, then rebranded the hotel as the Holiday Inn Express during the summer of 2012. The Holiday Inn was razed, clearing space for future development.

No timetable was given for the mixed-use development planned for the vacant space where the demolished Holiday Inn sat. Voice messages left for Jain at Lankmark's headquarters were not returned Monday.

A purchase price for Pinewood Plaza was unavailable late Monday. In 2008, the Holiday Inn and abutting Quality Inn were being sold as a package deal by the same broker. The 320-room Holiday Inn was built in 1963, the 129-room Quality Inn opened in 1986.

Pinewood Plaza is 26 years old and now houses leased space to Dynamics Research Corporation, the Hampton Convention and Visitors Bureau and Virginia Cooperative Extension.

The 71,307-square-foot building was most recently purchased by CSG Pinewood LLC in December 2011 for $4.7 million. The property is assessed at just shy of $5.7 million.

Landmark owns eight hotels in Hampton Roads including the Courtyard by Marriott on Cybernetics Way in Yorktown.